Adapted mainly from "The Complete Book of Cheese", by Robert Carlton Brown, 1955, and from other vintage sources. Articles on stilton, roquefort, swiss, cheddar, Camembert, feta, limburger, gorgonzola, fondues, and more.

Thursday, November 8, 2012

From "Woman's Institute Library of Cookery, Vol. 2"
Since American Cheddar cheese is the kind
that is commonly used in this country, the way in which it is made will
be well to know. The milk used for this kind of cheese is first
inspected as to cleanliness and the extent of fermentation it has
undergone, and when these points are ascertained, it is ripened; that
is, allowed to sour to a certain degree of acidity.

At this stage,
coloring matter is added, after which the milk is prepared for setting
by bringing it to a certain temperature. With the temperature at the
right point, rennet is added to coagulate the milk, or form the curd.
The milk is then allowed to remain undisturbed until the action of the
rennet is at a certain point, when the curd is cut into little
cube-shaped pieces by drawing two sets of knives through it and thus is
separated from the whey.

As soon as the curd is cut, the temperature of
the mass is raised to help make the curd firm and to cause the little
cubes to retain their firmness, and during the entire heating process
the whole mass is stirred constantly to assist in the separation from
the whey. When the curd is sufficiently firm, the whey is removed and
the particles of curd are allowed to adhere and form into a solid mass.
If necessary, the curd is cut again into small pieces to get rid of the
excess whey; but if the curd is too dry, the pieces must be piled up
until they are four or five deep.

During this process, which is known as
the cheddaring of the cheese, the curd is treated until it is of the
proper texture to be milled, that is, put into a mill and ground into
small pieces. The object of milling the curd is to cut it into pieces
small enough to permit of uniform salting and the further escape of
whey. When the curd has been brought to this point, it is salted and
then pressed into molds.